The Daily: Whales Join China’s Richest Ranks, Seniors Take a Swing at Bitcoin

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In today’s edition of The Daily, we look at the cryptocurrency entrepreneurs who now rank among the richest people in China, the limited return to operations of 1Broker, and a rather amusing attempt to explain Bitcoin to older folks by the AARP.

China’s Wealthiest Whales

The Hurun China Rich List 2018, the Chinese answer to the Forbes 400, was released on Wednesday and for the first time includes a total of 14 people working in the cryptocurrency space. This is the 20th annual ranking of the richest individuals in China, with a wealth cut-off of 2 billion yuan ($290 million). A total of 1,893 individuals made the list this year.

Two Bitmain executives — Zhan Ketuan (95th place with 29.5 billion yuan), age 39, and Jihan Wu (204th place with 16.5 billion yuan), age 32 — led the way. The third Chinese crypto whale, 41-year-old Binance founder Zhao Changpeng, took 230th place on the list at roughly 15 billion yuan. The report also noted that the blockchain industry is now officially the fastest-growing source of billionaires in China.

Other well-known crypto personalities on the list include Okex’s founder Star Xu, with 10 billion yuan, who took 354th place, as well as Leon Li of Huobi, who was ranked 556th, with 7 billion yuan.

1Broker to Start Processing
Withdrawal Requests Today

Marshall Islands-registered contracts-for-difference broker 1pool Ltd., which operates the 1Broker brand, has announced that the company will revive some if its functions today. The team tweeted that they will start processing clients’ withdrawal requests at 12:00 (UTC).

Three U.S. agencies took action against the international, bitcoin-funded securities dealer last month, including seizing its website domain for a period. The U.S. authorities alleged at the time that an undercover special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation “successfully purchased several security-based swaps on 1Broker’s platform from the U.S. despite not meeting the discretionary investment thresholds required by the federal securities laws.”

‘A Bunch of Computer Code’

It can be very difficult to explain the invention of cryptocurrency in a sentence or two, given that it’s a topic involving cryptography, computer science and economics. This is particularly true if one is trying to reach an audience that might be frightened or put off by new technologies and unfamiliar terms.

The AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) published a glossary of “Wall Street buzzwords” this week to help senior citizens improve their financial literacy and cut away the confusion when talking with high-finance big shots. But the list took a somewhat funny swipe at Bitcoin, while echoing some particularly tired tropes.

The glossary defines Bitcoin as “a bunch of computer code that a bunch of criminals, idealists and speculators agree is worth ‘real’ money. Sadly, its real-money value swings widely, making it impractical except for criminals, idealists and speculators.”

The AARP also defines Blockchain as: “1. A different bunch of computer code containing an unalterable record of a series of transactions. The most famous is a digital ledger recording all bitcoin transfers. 2. A word often uttered by companies hoping to snare investors’ attention — and dollars.”

The rest of the terms were also written in a comical way. For example, one entry defines an ETF as “marry a mutual fund to a stock and this is their baby.”

What do you think about today’s news tidbits? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

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